


Behind Closed Doors

by InterruptingMoose



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dark, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Depression, Destiel - Freeform, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, F/M, Gen, I'm not really sure where I'm going with this plot but I'm going somewhere, Imprisonment, Learning Disabilities, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Mute Castiel, Psychological Horror, Slow Build Castiel/Dean Winchester, Trust Issues, i've never written anything like this, probably hell, secret friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-13
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-02-13 00:12:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2129757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterruptingMoose/pseuds/InterruptingMoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Novak family were a wealthy and well-loved family. Mr and Mrs Novak have four children, Michael, Lucifer, Gabriel and Anna. But, unbeknownst to the children, Mr and Mrs Novak have a very, very dark secret. </p><p>And sometimes, the Novak children could swear that they could hear noises coming from the basement. </p><p>But, when Gabriel invites his new friends over, Dean takes a wrong turn in the house and ends up in the basement, where he finds a locked door. </p><p>Behind that door, lies a dark secret that has been kept hidden for sixteen years. </p><p>But there is a question that people have long since forgotten; What ever happened to little Castiel Novak?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Michael!" Gabriel cried out for his oldest brother, cowering under his bed sheets.

The bedroom door creaked open and Michael popped his head in.

"What's wrong, Gabriel?" He asked the ten year old.

"I can hear it again, Michael." Gabriel said, looking around into the darkness. "The noises."

"Gabriel." Michael shook his head and walked into the room. He seated himself next to his youngest brother and sighed. "It's probably just the furnace or something in the basement."

"What's going on?" A voice asked from the doorway. Michael looked up to see his twin brother, Lucifer, leaning against the doorway, and Anna, Gabriel's twin, behind him.

"Gabriel can hear the noises again." Michael said, running a hand through Gabriel's gold locks. It seemed to sloth him slightly, because he feel the younger Novak relax under his touch.

"I can hear them too." Anna piped up and hugged her teddy bear closer to her chest. "They're coming from the basement."

Lucifer picked up his sister and carried her over to Gabriel's bed and tucked her in beside her twin. "It's nothing." He assured her. 

"No monsters?" Gabriel and Anna asked.

"No monsters." Michael and Lucifer agreed, and then they stood up, about to leave.

"Will you stay?" Gabriel asked, giving his older brothers the puppy dog eyes.

Michael and Lucifer shared a look before rolling their eyes and grinning.

"Move over." Lucifer said as he climbed into the bed, next to Anna and Michael next to Gabriel. The two younger Novaks snuggled into their brothers.

"Michael?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes?" Michael replied, looking down at the sleepy figure of his brother.

"Why aren't we allowed in the basement?" He asked, yawning.

"I don't know, Gabriel. Father says we aren't supposed to go near there so we mustn't." Michael replied.

Gabriel, Anna and Lucifer drifted off later in the night. Michael looked around the room, taking in the mess, he sighed.

His gaze landed on the picture on Gabriel's nightstand. It was a picture of a smiling baby with black curls and bright blue eyes in a gold frame. Eight years ago, the baby had died of illness a year after he was born.

"Goodnight, Castiel." Michael whispered to the brother he never knew.

……………

Eight years later…

"Class, we have a new student with us today." Mrs. Smith, a tall woman with tan skin and wild bushy hair, called over her homeroom class. "His name is Dean Winchester."

The class looked to the front of the room where a boy with sandy blonde hair and bright green eyes with freckles sprinkled over his nose and cheeks stood. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and worn out jeans with a plaid shirt and an amulet around his neck.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell us about yourself, Mr. Winchester?" Mrs. Smith asked, gesturing between herself and the class.

"Not really." Dean said, his voice was deep yet smooth.

"Oh, well in that case, please take your seat next to Mr. Novak." She said, gesturing to the short boy with golden hair and honey eyes to match.

"Sure." Dean said and walked down the row of chairs until he plopped down next to Gabriel.

"Hey, I'm Gabriel." Gabriel introduced himself, leaning over his desk, grinning. "So, what's up, Deano?"

Great, Dean thought. I get stuck beside the annoying person in class.

……………

Honestly, Gabriel was not as bad as Dean had expected. Sure, he was annoying to some degree but he was witty and funny and was constantly pulling pranks on people, which were hilarious.

They were in most classes together, and Gabriel had introduced him to his friends, Meg, Charlie, Chuck, Becky, Kevin and Andy. They were pretty cool people and they were all going to hang out at Gabriel's after school.

Dean learned that Gabriel had a twin sister named Anna and two older brothers, who were also twins, named Michael and Lucifer, who were twenty three.

Gabriel had learned that Dean had two younger brothers, Sam, or Sammy, who was fourteen and Adam, who was five. He lived with his mom, Mary, and his dad, John, but John worked for the military for a while and they were constantly moving around. But now, John had retired from the army and joined the police department in Kansas.

"C'mon, guys! Hurry up!" Gabriel called as they all climbed out of the car.

"Don't rush us." Charlie mock glared at Gabriel.

They all entered the house, which was pretty big, Dean had to admit and ran into Gabriel's brothers, Michael and Lucifer.

"What're you guys doing here?" Gabriel asked, pulling his older brothers into a hug.

"Just visiting." Michael said. He and Lucifer moved out when they were nineteen and got a flat in the town. They still lived pretty close, but it was still a nice surprise.

"This is Dean." Gabriel said, pointing to the Winchester. "He's my new friend. We met at school, he's pretty cool."

"Hey." Dean greeted them.

"Hello." Michael and Lucifer greeted at the same time, a weird twin thing everyone presumed.

"We better go or else Missouri is gonna have our asses handed to us on a plate." Lucifer said, dragging Michael out of the door.

"It was nice meeting you, Dean." They both called in their weird twin thing.

"You too." Dean called. "Do they always talk at the same time?" He asked once he was sure they were gone.

"Yeah." Everyone replied.

"I think they do it to creep people out." Gabriel admitted, shrugging. "There was a lady down the street who thought they were possessed. Anyway, let's play video games."

……………

"Dude, where's your bathroom?" Dean asked, standing up and looking around.

"Ah, down the hall." Gabriel said, pointing without looking because he was distracted by the game.

"Thanks." Dean muttered before taking off down the hall. He opened the door and went down a very, very long flight of stairs.

The room steadily got darker and colder as Dean walked further down the stares until he stopped in a room. It was empty except for the door on the opposite side of the room.

Dean sighed. Stupid, big, complicated house, he thought as he walked through the door and into another room.

But it wasn't a room, it was a long narrow hallway that was damp and very dimly lot. Dean walked on further down the hall, unable to stop himself, a growing fear settling over him. He reached the edge of the hall and walked into yet another room. 

But this room was different, fear and uncertainty settled over the Winchester and he had a very bad feeling about this room. Something about this room told him to leave.

Something about this room told him that he wasn't supposed to be here.

He turned around, about to leave but something in the far corner caught his eyes.

Another door.

Uncertain, Dean walked over to the door and stopped right in front of it.

It was a metal door that was rusting, it looked as though it was a few years old. Dean had a feeling that there was something in the other side of the door.

Slowly, he turned the handle and tried to pull the door open but it was locked. He let go and sighed, but he could've sworn that the door handled turned on its own for a second.

Dean didn't know why he did it, but the Winchester knocked on the door. There was no reply.

Get over yourself, Dean, he mentally slapped himself, shaking his head.

He walked over to the other side of the room, about to leave. He was honestly surprised by his own curiosity.

But he was even more surprised, as when he was about to leave, the door knocked back.


	2. The Boy

Dean felt his blood run cold as he stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned his head towards the rusted metal door. It knocked again, it wasn't a loud banging noise, it was a quiet knocking, almost as if it was uncertain.

Dean was debating whether or not to run from the room or go over to the door. He didn't seem to notice when his feet dragged him to the other side of the room, right in front of the door.

"Hello?" He asked, uncertain. "Is somebody there?" He tried to open the handle again and this time, it definitely did rattle on its own.

Dean looked around the room for a pin of some sort. He spotted one on the floor, a few feet behind him. He picked up the pin and without thinking, began to pick the lock.

He struggled for a few minutes before he heard the lock click. He took a few steps back from the door. He reached for the handle and slowly opened the door. The door creaked and Dean was sure that it was going to fall off of it's hinges soon. 

Dean, as silently as possible, walked through the door and into another room. The room was empty except for a small bed in the middle of it and it was dimly lit by a small bulb hanging from the ceiling. The walls were a faded white and a little dirty and the floor was grey. 

Although there was a light, there were shadows cast on all of the corners of the small room. Dean turned around and something on the door caught his eye. He pushed the door a little and examined the door. It was covered in scratch marks and, Dean was pretty sure, dried blood.

Dean ran his fingers along the scratch marks, some were older than others, years older, in fact. Dean was examining some of the newer scratch marks when he felt a presence behind him. He tensed up and, very slowly, turned around. 

He came face to face with a boy, probably the same age as himself. The boy had slightly long, messy black hair and very pale skin. He had bright blue eyes that looked dead on the inside, as if they had seen horrors that one could not explain. He was wearing a pair of white trousers and a white t-shirt that were covered in dried up blood and dirt and were torn and frayed in some places. He wasn't wearing any shoes and his skin was a little dirty. His arms and face were covered in old and new bruises, cuts and scars and his fingertips and nails were covered in dried and fresh blood.

Dean automatically took several steps back from the strange boy. There were a million thoughts racing through his head like; Why does Gabriel have a strange boy in his basement and what should I do? 

"Who are you?" He asked but the boy stayed silent, just staring at Dean with the same dead look in his eyes. Dean recovered slightly and cautiously offered out his hand. "I'm Dean." He introduced himself.

The boy looked down at Dean's hand and then back up at Dean. He tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Do you have a name?" Dean asked, awkwardly dropping his hand to his side.

The boy looked at him again and nodded very slightly.

"Do you want to tell me your name?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. The boy looked at him, as if he wanted to but he didn't know why - no, Dean thought, not why. How?

"Can you talk?" Dean asked, unsure if it was inappropriate. But then again, he had just found a stranger living in his new friend's basement.

The boy looked at him before he looked down and shook his head. He turned his back on Dean and went to sit on the bed.

Dean slowly followed and sat down next to him. The boy looked a little startled as Dean sat next to him.

"Have you been here for long?" Dean asked. The boy nodded. "Do you know your name?" The boy nodded, and Dean had an idea. "Maybe you can spell it out for me?" Dean suggested, taking a pen out of his pocket, but the boy just looked at the pen and shook his head. 

"Do you know how to spell it?" Dean asked and the boy shook his head. "Do you know how to write?" He asked after a very short while and the boy shook his head again. "Read?" Dean asked and the boy shook his head again.

"Do you get much to eat?" Dean asked and the boy shook his head. "Why are you here?" Dean asked and the boy looked at him. "We've gotta get you out of here." Dean said and a look of pure terror came over the boy and he shook his head frantically, his eyes wide and scared as he backed into the wall.

Dean was alarmed by the boy's reaction. "Okay, calm down, please calm down." Dean begged. "You don't have to go." He promised and the boy calmed down very slightly.

Someone obviously keeps him down here, Dean thought. And they'd probably be furious if they found out he was gone or if they knew I was here. 

His thoughts were cut off as his phone started ringing and the boy looked alarmed by the sound. Dean quickly reached for his phone and answered it.

He hung up and looked a little upset. "I have to get home." He said and the boy looked a little sad. "My mum needs me for something. But I'll come back tomorrow and I'll visit you, I promise." He promised and the boy just looked at him.

Dean got an idea and took the amulet off of his neck. "Here," He said. "This is a promise that I'll come back to see you." He handed the amulet to the boy. 

"See ya soon." Dean said and left, feeling very upset. With a heavy heart, he locked the door behind him.

……………

Later that night, Dean sat with a beer in his aunt Ellen's bar. She was married to his uncle Bobby and had a daughter, Jo.

"What's up, Dean?" Balthazar, Jo's fiancé, asked as he wiped down the bar. He was a British man with blonde hair, light blue eyes and always wore v-necks. He was pretty close to the Winchesters and even though he was going to marry her daughter, Ellen still smacked him across the head with anything in her hand when he annoyed her, which was usually quite often. But everyone could tell that Ellen had warmed up to him.

Dean considered for a moment. "You've lived here for a while, right Bal?" He asked.

"Yeah, why?" Balthazar asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you know about the Novaks?" Dean asked.

Balthazar sighed. "They're a wealthy, well-loved family. Really religious, too. Naomi and Zachariah Novak have four kids, Michael, Lucifer, they're twins and Gabriel and Anna, they're twins too. I don't really like them that much, the kids are alright, but Naomi and Zachariah are real assholes." He explained. "Why?"

"No, it's just, um… did they used to have a younger son?" Dean asked, in what he hoped was an nonchalant voice.

Balthazar thought for a minutes. "I was around seven or eight at the time, I think." He began. "Sixteen years ago, there used to be a boy, he was just a baby and he died a year after he was born. He was really sick, apparently. Load of crap, if you ask me, that child was healthier than the lot of them. A lot of people around here didn't believe that the child died of illness." Balthazar said, shaking his head. 

"I remember Michael and Lucifer, they were a little younger than me, were really torn up about it. I think they blamed themselves for his death, they thought they were supposed to look after him. They were only six at the time. Sometimes they call in here, they may not show it, but they still blame themselves for what happened."

Dean could feel his heart racing. Gabriel's dead brother was still alive and living underneath him. And Michael and Lucifer had blamed themselves for sixteen years and counting. But Dean couldn't exactly tell them about it, could he?

"What happened them?" Dean asked and he couldn't help the hint of interest in his tone. Balthazar didn't seem to notice Dean's interest as he replied.

"It's a question people have long since forgotten: Whatever happened to little Castiel Novak?"


	3. Team Free Will

"Dude, you look like crap." Gabriel said as Dean slouched down next to him at his desk.

"Thanks." Dean muttered, sarcastically. "I couldn't get any sleep last night." He admitted, his head resting on his hands.

"Why? Noises keeping ya up?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

"Wha - Dude, that's gross." Dean said, rolling his eyes. "They're my parents."

"No, that's not what I meant - but, hey, if your willing to share." Gabriel smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Gabriel." Dean warned.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding... No, I was talking about noises, like from the basement or something." Gabriel said.

"What do ya mean 'noises from the basement'?" Dean's head snapped up. He watched Gabriel carefully, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"Well, when I was a kid, I always heard noises come from the basement." Gabriel shrugged and Dean felt his breakfast churning uncomfortably in his stomach.

"You did?" Dean asked, his voice strained.

"Yeah, the stupid furnace kept acting up. Maybe there's something wrong with yours?" Gabriel suggested and Dean just shook his head. "So, what happened to your necklace?"

Dean's hand immediately went to his neck. "I, uh, lost it." He said, unconvincingly.

"Okay." Gabriel said, dragging out the 'o'. "So, we're all staying in my house this weekend, starting tonight. Ya coming?" 

"Sure." Dean said, and felt a little guilty. Gabriel just raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Can I ask you a question?" Dean asked, and the Winchester was nervous. "That picture - in your room - who is it?" He asked, already knowing and dreading the answer.

Gabriel eyed him carefully before deciding to answer. "His name is - was Castiel." Gabriel corrected himself. "He was my baby brother. Why?" He added.

"No reason." Dean shrugged. "Just noticed the picture. Cute kid." He said, nonchalantly. 

"Yeah, he was." Gabriel said sadly and Dean felt the guilt clawing at him from the inside.

...............

Dean climbed the stairs of the Novak house, heading towards Gabriel's room, he'd been oddly quiet that day. He creaked open the door and looked inside. 

Gabriel was sitting on the edge of his bed, the golden frame in his hands. He was looking at the picture, muttering something that Dean couldn't hear. Gabriel stroked the picture of the baby, a sad smile on his face.

Tell him, a voice said in his head. Tell him about Castiel.

Don't tell him! Another part I his mind hissed. You would tear this family apart!

Dean pushed the door open slightly but stopped, he had to listen to reason. He could tell Gabriel about this boy, his baby brother, his dead baby brother, was living in his basement, very much alive, but he could also destroy his family and make Gabriel's life hell, if he told him.

Dean decided against it and silently closed the door. He headed down the stairs, towards the basement.

He had a promise to keep.

...............

Dean looked around the slightly familiar room in the basement. Everyone else probably wouldn't notice if he were gone, they were too distracted playing video games.  
He knocked on the door first, and took out a pocket knife. Carefully, with slightly shaky hands, he began to pick the lock, he could disable the lock if he wanted, but Mr. Novak would notice. 

He heard a click and the door swung open to reveal the dimly lit room where he had met the strange boy. 

The room appeared empty, although he thought that yesterday and Castiel nearly gave him a heart attack, appearing out of nowhere. 

Obviously, his social skills were a little rusty.

"Castiel?" He whispered into the silence and it seemed to echo back. "It's me, Dean." Dean stepped into the room and looked around. His hand flew to his heart when felt a presence behind him.

How the hell does he do that? Dean thought as he turned around. Castiel was standing there, staring at him, and there was a very, very tiny, you could barely see it, twinkle in his blue eyes.

Castiel lifted up a closed fist, and opened it to reveal Dean's amulet.

"Hey." Dean said, quietly and Castiel's lips turned up the tiniest bit, but Dean frowned, there were several fresh cuts and bruises on Castiel's face.

Without thinking, Dean reached forward and Castiel's eyes widened as he stumbled backward. He almost fell over, but Dean caught him and pulled him up and they were chest-to-chest.

"I'm so sorry - I didn't mean to -" Dean began but Castiel shook his head and gave Dean the tiniest hint of a smile.

He has surprisingly nice teeth, Dean thought absentmindedly, a smile breaking out on his features.

The two boys stared at each other, it could have been for a few seconds or it could have been for an hour, until Dean remembered the reason Castiel almost fell over.

"Cas, what happened to you?" Dean asked, and very slowly raised his hand. Castiel flinched but remained still as Dean carefully examined his cheek.

It felt different.

It didn't hurt, it wasn't rough, Dean prodded and caressed his cheek gently, Castiel flinched when he ran his thumb over a particularly painful bruise, but it wasn't a slap or a punch or kick.

It was… nice.

"Did your dad do this to you?" Dean whispered, the blood was still damp. Dean wiped away the blood with his sleeve, not caring about the stains it would leave.

Dean led Castiel over to the bed, and kneeled down in front of him so that they were eye to eye and gently dabbed at the cuts with the hem of his sleeve until the blood was gone.

It can't be just this, Dean decided. He looked down and Castiel's shirt and his thoughts were confirmed. There was blood seeping through the shirt. Dean was overcome with anger and that faded into concern.

He reached forward and fiddled with the frayed hem of Castiel's shirt. Castiel seemed to get the message and took of his shirt.

A gasp escaped Dean's lips as the shirt was lifted off. Castiel upper body was littered with dark bruises and viscous cuts along his chest and stomach. Dean noticed that some cuts were shapes, very detailed shapes. Some were very basic, like crosses but some were so detailed that it made Dean sick to sick to his stomach. They were religious symbols, he recognised the from a book his uncle Bobby gave him.

"What kinda sick son of a bitch does this?" He asked, unable to disguise his anger and disgust. 

Castiel was shaking slightly and Dean looked up to see that he looked a little fearful of what Dean might do. Dean thought for a moment.

His dad must have been angry when he did this, Dean thought and he immediately cleared his expression and changed it to a calm one.

Dean made a mental list in his head of what not to do around Castiel: a. Do not make sudden movements and b. Do not show or express anger

"It's okay." Dean soothed in a calm voice. "I'm not mad at you." It took a little while for Castiel to calm down.

Dean gently dabbed at the cuts, clearing away the blood. He clench his jaw every time he passed a symbol.

Once they were finished, Castiel slipped his shirt back on and Dean climbed onto the bed next to him. Dean heaved a sigh and looked at Castiel and felt his heart shatter.

Dean slowly reached forward and took Castiel's hand in both of his, gently trailing his thumb over the pale skin. Castiel just tilted his head to the side.

"I'm gonna get you outta here one day." Dean promised in a barely audible whisper. "No matter what, you're gonna be free, have your own free will. You could stay with me, if you like. We could be a team." He laughed quietly, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Castiel watched Dean curiously. He didn't understand why Dean was crying. Why was Dean sad? He hesitantly reached forward with his spare hand and wiped away the tears with his thumb.

Dean looked up at his, his green eyes teary. He took both of Castiel's hands in his own. He smiled sadly and whispered; "You and me. Team Free Will."


	4. A Visit to Father Cain

Dean sat on his laptop a few weeks later, thoughts racing through his head. How was he supposed to help Cas? 

Maybe I could go to the police? Dean thought but then dismissed it. What am I supposed to tell them? Oh, yeah, I found this dude that's been dead for sixteen years but guess what? He's not actually dead. He's alive and living in his parents' freaking basement? And they beat the living crap out of him everyday because they're freaking nut jobs.

Dean sighed. He opened up a new tab and typed Castiel Novak into the search bar and then hit search. A few results came up.

Dean scanned through them briefly. The majority of them were Castiel's anniversary but one in particular caught his eye. 

Local priest admitted to Topeka State Hospital after attempted attack on Castiel Novak, aged...

Dean opened up the article scanning through it, but there wasn't much to read. He learned that a local priest in the town named Father Cain had tried to attack Castiel when he was a baby but the reasons weren't justified. In fact, no reasons were given at all.

Dean thought for a minute, and then quickly scribbled down the address of the hospital.

He was going to pay Father Cain a visit and ask him a few questions.

...............

"Hey, Dean." Charlie greeted him the next morning as he was about to get into his car.

"Hey, Charlie." Dean greeted, trying not to sound rude but he had to hurry.

"So, what's going on with you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Not much, really." Dean shrugged.

"Something's bothering you." Charlie said and Dean froze. "You've been acted weird and nervous and... guilty these past few weeks." She said. 

"I - I'm - just stressed, y'know, with school and moving and yeah... nothing to worry about." Dean stuttered, thinking fast on his feet as he made up excuses.

"Oh." Charlie said, looking unconvinced. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"Library." Dean lied. "I have to hurry, they're closing soon." He added and Charlie nodded.

"We'll talk later." Charlie said and Dean nodded as he climbed into his car and drove off, feeling even more guilty.

Maybe I should tell Charlie, Dean thought. But what if she tells? No, she wouldn't... but maybe she would if she was scared. What am I going to do?

Dean drove while thinking until he finally pulled up at Topeka State Hospital. Dean got out of the car and made his way to the reception.

He was greeted by an old woman with grey hair in a tight bun and she raised an eyebrow behind her dark rimmed glasses. 

"Can I help you?" She asked. Her tone sounded unamused and irritated.

"I would like to see, uh, Father Cain." Dean stated, avoiding her questioning glare.

"Do you have authorisation to do so?" The receptionist asked.

"N - No..." Dean replied.

"Then I cannot permit you to visit." The receptionist said.

"Listen, I really need to see him, I'm... his - his nephew! I'm his nephew. He's my uncle." Dean lied. "May I see him? Please?"

The receptionist sighed. "He's in room 206." 

Dean thanked her and made his way to the room. The corridors were deserted, not a single person in sight.

What am I doing? What. Am. I. Doing? Dean thought as he knocked on the door. He entered the room, looking around.

There were drawings and writing on the wall. Dean recognised a few of the them. He closed his eyes, these drawings were carved into Castiel's body. Dean felt a little naseaus and dizzy, holding onto the door handle for support.

"Who're you?" A voice croaked.

Dean opened his eyes and looked at the man. "My name's Dean Winchester, I want to ask you a few questions... if you don't mind." He added at the end.

"Please come in." The old man gestured. He had long messy grey hair and a short scruffy beard of the same colour. 

"Thanks." Dean hesitantly shut the door behind him and took a seat opposite the priest. 

"What do you want to know?" Father Cain asked.

"Um, I was wondering if I could ask you about the night you tried to attack one of the Novak kids?" Dean asked and the priest nodded. "Why did you do it?" Dean continued.

"He was an abomination." Father Cain replied. "He was evil. Corrupt."

"He was just a kid." Dean said. 

"The Devil comes in many forms." Father Cain replied.

"The Devil comes in - wait - the Devil?" Dean asked, his eyes widening. "The Devil isn't - isn't real."

"He's a real as you or me." Father Cain replied. "And he's living in that house."

"What is it about him thay makes you think he's... evil?" Dean asked. 

"People feared that child, one day he just appeared, like that." Father Cain snapped his fingers for emphasis. "He acted so innocent, just like a normal child but he was evil. The Father of Lies and Deceit. That dastardly child needed to be stopped. He was feared because we knew - we knew that something wasn't right with him."

"Of course, people aren't afraid anymore, but they should be." Father Cain said.

"Why?" Dean asked, and he didn't know if he wanted to know the answer.

"Because we live in the presence of evil." Father Cain said.

Dean felt panic rise in him. This guy is crazy, he thought. There's no way that Cas could be the Devil. 

"Remember, Dean, the Devil's greatest achievement is making others believe that he is not real. They lose their fear and as a result, they lose their guard. The devil has no power - except in the dark. " Dean stared at him and the priest stared right into his eyes and Dean, well, Dean saw fear in the old man.

A thousand thoughts were running through Dean's mind. Cas couldn't be the devil. He was just a kid. This guy's just a religious nut. But what if he's not? What if Cas is evil? But he can't be. But he could be but -

"Castiel is alive." Dean blurted, and then quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. 

Father Cain stared at Dean. "Castiel? The - the baby that died?" 

"Well, yeah, you just said you tried to kill him because he was the devil." Dean replied.

"I was trying to save him." The priest replied. "Before he could get him."

"You were - you were trying to save Castiel?" Dean asked. "From who?" 

"From -" Father Cain began but the light flickered and the room suddenly became colder. The light flickered more vigorously and silence fell. And Dean saw it, the cross which he been nailed to the wall was slowly turning upside down.

"Leave." Father Cain said and Dean looked at him. "He's coming for me, run, go to safety. Listen to me, boy, because it might just save your life. Leave this town. Leave and never return. Don't look back and try to forget everything. You can't save me now, Dean. Go." 

"What?" Dean asked. "C'mon, let get out of -" Before Dean could make him leave with him, the door was flung open and he was thrown out of the room by an unknown force. The door slammed shut and thunder could be heard from outside as rain began to pour from the sky.

Run. A voice in his mind told him, and Dean did just that. He ran down the corridors, taking the steps two or three at a time. He reached the reception but the receptionist was gone. Dean ran from the building, barely stopping for breath. He tore the car door open and drove away, going way over the speed limit. 

Once he reached his house he was still in away panic as he hurried inside. He was so distracted by his thoughts he didn't notice when he almost knocked Adam over.

"De!" Adam giggled, the toddler standing up on his wobbling legs and reaching his chubby hands out towards his brother, making grabby hands at him.

"Heya, Adam." Dean grinned as he picked his youngest brother up off of the ground, trying to take his mind off of what was happening to Father Cain.

"You're all wet, De." Adam said, using his sleeve to try and dry Dean's leather jacket and failing miserably.

"C'mon, let's get something to eat." Dean said, his voice sounded strained.

"I was trying to save him."

The words kept repeating themselves in Dean's mind. Castiel needed his help, because apparently Satan was after him.

Dean thought for a minute. Michael? Nah. Lucifer... Dean thought for a minute. Lucifer was the Devil's name apparently, but something about Lucifer being the actual devil didn't sit right with Dean. Gabriel? No. Anna? No. Mr. and Mrs. Novak? Maybe.

Dean decided that he was going to spend as much time as possible with the family, he was going to watch their every move whilst trying to take care of Castiel. He needed to keep him safe.

Dean sat later that night in his room, reading through a book of religious symbols. Father Cain had put a few wards in his room, but also symbols for a summoning ritual, which slightly confused Dean.

Dean had also learned that although an inverted cross represents Satanism and it's mockery of Jesus Christ however it was also a deeply religious symbol and the Satanism part had only been introduced in recent years. 

Dean sighed, his mind wandering back to Castiel. He was going to help him somehow, because apparently he was living with the Devil.

Dean almost jumped when Sam entered his room, looking for a pencil. He was constantly on guard now because no matter what, he couldn't get Father Cain's warnings out of his head. Dean needed to be aware, he needed to be safe. Father Cain's voice kept echoing through his mind.

"The devil has no power - except in the dark."


	5. The Revelation

As silently as possible, Dean crept across the garden of Gabriel's house. Sure, it was creepy enough that was he was going to break into his friend's house at midnight, but he had his supposedly dead brother living in his basement so it was basically the lesser of two evils, in Dean's opinion.

A few weeks pervious, Dean had noticed a door to the cellar in Gabriel's back garden. He figured that he could climb down there and navigate his way to Castiel's room. God help him if he was ever caught.

Dean reached the cellar and knelt down, picking the lock on the door before pulling it open. Thankfully, there was a ladder to climb down. Ignoring the creaking and wobbling of the old, wooden ladder, Dean climbed down it, wiping the dust off of his hands on his jeans. He took a torch out of his backpack before throwing it back over his shoulder and turned on the torch. 

Finding himself in the wine cellar, Dean made his way to the door and found himself in the basement. He walked down the familiar hallway as quietly as he could. He walked for a short while before he reached Castiel's door and picked the lock, as usual.

Castiel was sitting on his bed and smiled when he saw him. Dean returned the smile without hesitation, closing the door quietly.

"Hey, Cas," Dean greeted, seating himself on the opposite end of the bed, crossing his legs. "I brought you some food." He reached into his bag and took out some sandwiches and a bottle of water. Castiel smiled appreciatively as Dean handed him the food.

Over the last few weeks, Dean had been bringing Castiel food and some books to read to him, and to teach him how to read and write. He'd also been telling him about the world - a world Castiel could never remember. He'd tell him about trees, lakes, birds that sing and other animals, and people - all different kinds of people and Castiel would sit it awe as he explained them to him. He told him some basic things people did, like handshakes, which were very formal greeting, and kisses, which were to express love, but Castiel was still confused by the gestures.

But tonight was different, tonight Dean was going to tell Castiel about his family. About Gabriel, Anna, Lucifer, and Michael. His siblings that missed him.

"You know how I always tell you about people? And my family?" Dean asked and Castiel nodded excitedly. His face seemed to light up when Dean mentioned his family, finding the love for them so interesting. It saddened Dean - Castiel probably couldn't remember what it felt liked to be loved. "Well, tonight, I wanna tell you about /your/ family."

Castiel pointed to himself, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion and Dean nodded, yet to hear a word from the younger boy.

"Yeah, your family. You - you have a family." Dean swallowed hard. "You have three older brothers, and one older sister. Gabriel, Lucifer, and Michael are the names of your brothers, and your sister's name is Anna."

Dean watched Castiel's puzzled face as he looked down at his sandwich. He slowly shook his head.

"Yes." Dean said."This - this is them." The Winchester reached into his bag again and pulled out some photographs, handing it to Castiel. Dean was glad for Gabriel uploading like a million pictures a day to Instagram, however, he couldn't find any pictures of Michael when he was younger. 

Castiel looked down at the pictures of his four siblings, his eyes glancing at each of them in turn, taking in every detail about them. He held up the group picture and pointed to Michael. 

"That's Michael." Dean explained. "He's the oldest, and that blonde one there is Lucifer - they're twins. And that's Anna, and that's Gabriel. They're twins, too."

Castiel nodded and then pointed to Michael again. 

Dean frowned for a second before explaining slowly, "that's Michael, he's your oldest brother." Castiel shook his head and Dean sighed. "Look, Cas, I know it can't be easy, you know, learning that you actually have a family but trust me, they'd do anything to have you back because they love you so much."

Castiel looked at him sadly before glancing back down at the picture and then back at Dean, pointing to himself once more. Dean nodded.

Dean allowed Castiel to ponder the new information in silence, however, his conversation with Father Cain was still lurking in the back of his mind.

Castiel couldn't be evil... could he?

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Dean said, and Castiel nodded, not looking up from the picture.

There was a door in the right hand corner of the room that Dean hadn't noticed on his first few visits. The door blended in with the wall so well that it was quite easy to miss - and the handled was hidden by the shadows in the room. There was a small bathroom in there that consisted of a shower, a sink, and a toilet. It was old and the probably once white walls were yellowed with age and the paint was peeling.

Dean ignored the squeaking of the water taps as he turned them on and splashed some water on his face. He'd been watching Gabriel's family for weeks and not a single one of them - except their parents - had shown the slightest hint of evilness. 

Dean, meanwhile, had been going crazy. Should he go to the police? Yes. But wait. What would they do? The Novaks were a pretty powerful family, he gathered, and had control over a lot of businesses and services in town. Would people believe Dean? 

In reality, Dean had absolutely no reason to lie, but then again, the Novaks were a pretty influential family and Dean could just be brushed off as a crazy person.

Splashing some more water on his face, Dean returned to Castiel, who had put down the picture and was now watching with both amusement and interest as he turned the flashlight on and off.

Dean smiled at him, feeling his heart swell a little bit in his chest as he sat down opposite him again. 

"Alright," Dean clapped his hands together, distracting Castiel from the torch, and pulled his bag closer to him. He took out some pictures, some with words on them, a notebook, and a pen. He handed Castiel the pen and notebook. "Spelling."

"Spell 'cat'." Dean ordered, shuffling through, and organising the pictures before selecting one of a cat. He watched Castiel, who's face was full of determination, his tongue poking out the side of his mouth, as he carefully wrote the word down on the notebook before holding it up. The writing was messy, like a child's, but the word was spelt right.

Dean smiled, holding up a picture of a cat, and one of a dog. "Which one is the cat?" He asked, and Castiel thought for a moment before pointing to the picture of the cat. "That's right." 

Castiel beamed proudly, and this went on for a while. Castiel messed up a little along the way, especially with the longer words, and some slightly harder math questions, but was overall very good. 

Dean was reading a book to Castiel, although slowly and quietly, when he heard it.

Footsteps.

Someone was approaching, and they were close. 

Dean froze, looking at Castiel, his heart racing. Castiel glanced at the door quickly before jumping up from the bed as Dean shoved everything back in his bag, throwing it over his shoulder. 

Glancing around helplessly for any sort of escape, Dean felt Castiel's hand in his own, tugging him towards the bathroom and shoving him inside.

Castiel looked at Dean sadly, his eyes full of fear as he pressed a finger to his lips. 

"Be quiet." Dean whispered silently and Castiel nodded before covering his ears. "Don't listen," Dean said, and Castiel pointed to the door and shook his head, "don't leave." Castiel nodded slowly. "But --" Dean began weakly but Castiel shook his head firmly, and Dean gave a reluctant nod.

Castiel glanced at the door and back at Dean before he stood on his tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Dean's cheek. He stood back and gestured for him to stay there before he slowly made his way out, closing the door behind him.

Dean's heart was beating against his ribcage as he sat down on the side of the bath, his hands shaking and he didn't dare breath. 

He heard the door to Castiel's room open, followed by a pair of footsteps. It was quite a shirt time before Dean heard the first scream and he jumped to his feet, shaking his head as he strode to the door, pulling at the handle - Castiel had locked the door. He pulled the handle as hard as he could but to no avail.

Dean stumbled back and sat down on the floor, covering his ears at the spine chilling screams coming from his friend, however, no matter how hard he pressed his hands to his ears, nothing could drown out the dreadful noise.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, his eyes shut tight and his hands covering his ears but eventually it stopped. He waited until he heard the door to Castiel's room open and then close before he attempted to open the bathroom door. It opened right away.

Dean practically ran back into the room, where Castiel was sitting on his bed with his knees pulled up against his chest. There was blood seeping through his shirt and trousers, and his arms were covered in bright red mark that were sure to turn into bruises.

"Sick sons of bitches," Dean muttered angrily to himself as he walked towards Castiel.

Castiel looked up at him through red rimmed eyes and with tear stained cheeks, before he quickly looked down at his feet and sniffled.

"It's okay, Cas," Dean whispered, sitting down next to him and wrapping his arms around him, rocking his gently, muttering comforting things in his ear. "I don't know how, but one day, I'm gonna get you out of here."

And for the first time, Castiel nodded in agreement.

.............

Dean had had enough. The previous night had gotten to him and he was done keeping the secret. He had to tell someone - anyone.

"Gabriel!" Dean called, jogging up to catch up with the Novak in the school hallway, "I have something to tell you, I --" Dean's voice cut off. He tried to speak but couldn't - trying to tell Gabriel about his brother but his voice wasn't working.

"Yeah?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow at him and Dean shook his head, and waved him off. 

What the hell had just happened?

He slowly made his way to class, his mind reeling. How had he lost his voice? Shaking his head, he entered his algebra class five minutes late, much to the annoyance of his teacher.

............

Later that night Dean was looking at an article he had printed out about Father Cain's attack on Castiel and he thought of something - something he hadn't quite thought of before.

Father Cain was trying to save Castiel so why did he attack him?

So Dean thought that maybe - just maybe - he wasn't attacking Castiel but the person that was holding Castiel. Father Cain's voice rang in his mind.

"I was trying to save him. Before he could get him."

Dean scrambled all over the place looking for the second half of the article that had the picture of the family on it. Flattening it out, he eyes flew across to Castiel and slowly, the article slid out of Dean's hands and dropped to the bed as realisation dawned over the Winchester.

Father Cain wasn't attacking Castiel.

He was attacking Michael.


End file.
